Dark Side
by Annber03
Summary: Garcia just wanted to give Reid some encouragement. She may come to regret that. Based off a scene from episode 12x17 ("In the Dark"). Spoilers within.


_**A/N:**_ _There is also brief reference to the events of "Hell's Kitchen" and a bit of total speculation for "True North" towards the end of this fic._

* * *

Before now, Garcia could count on one hand the amount of times she'd been anywhere in or near a prison. There was the case with Sarah Jean years back, and the trip she took to see Greg Baylor before he was put to death a couple years back. She didn't regret her reasons for going to those prisons – she'd done good work while there, or tried to, at least, and she knew, on some level, visiting prisons sometimes came with the job.

Still, the fact remained that they were creepy, sad places, and after her visit to Baylor, she vowed to never set foot in a prison again. Not if she could help it.

And yet here she was, breaking that vow to go see Reid.

 _Damn it, Spencer._ She instantly chastised herself for the thought.

It didn't matter how many times she visited Reid, or how many times she thought about the fact he was in jail. The words "Spencer Reid" and "prison" just could not compute for her. They didn't belong in the same _sentence_.

Garcia found herself mulling over these beliefs as she went through her usual security protocols to enter the jail. She wouldn't allow herself to think about how normal this routine was becoming for her. In her hand, she clutched a fresh stack of letters and a couple crosswords for Reid.

Once Garcia was cleared to enter, she immediately made her way to the visiting area and settled in, ignoring all the curious, and creepy, looks from some of the prisoners. She set the stack of letters on the table in front of her, stared at the empty spot on the other side of the partition, and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Eventually, Garcia checked the clock on the wall, and immediately frowned. It'd been ten minutes since she sat down. Where _was_ he? _Did he forget I'd be here today? Is he busy? What on earth would they have him doing? Is he still sleeping? No, of course he wouldn't be, they have a schedule here and he has to follow it, so he has to be up and -_

Garcia's thoughts halted as she caught Reid entering the room out of the corner of her eye. As usual, she took him in. The familiar unruly hair, the grungy clothes, the scruff on his face that she would, in any other instance, happily insist was a good look for him, the -

 _Oh._

 _Oh, God. No._

"...Reid?" she asked as he sat down. He barely looked at her, but it didn't matter what part of his face she saw. The purple-ish-green blotches littered virtually every spot on his face. Did he have a black eye, too? Or was she imagining that?

"Hi, Garcia," Reid muttered.

"What _happened_ to you?" Garcia exclaimed, moving as though she wanted to stand and come around to examine his face. Or reach a hand through the partition to him. Or something.

"I don't want to talk about it," Reid said, his voice barely audible. He folded his arms on the table and hunched in on himself.

She was going to be sick. She was going to puke right here on the prison floor. They _hurt_ him. Garcia was well used to seeing Reid injured before, and she'd even seen him in much worse shape than this because of some Godforsaken unsub.

But that still didn't make the image of her friend all cut up and bruised any easier to look at. When Reid finally looked directly at her, she winced at the dark circles around his eyes. Were they bags or bruises or both? She couldn't begin to tell.

"I'm so sorry," Garcia said. Her voice trembled. "Where's the warden? I want to go talk to him. I want to lodge a complaint. I want to get him fired. I want -"

"Garcia, please." Reid held up a hand to silence her.

"We have to _do_ something! People shouldn't be allowed to beat you up, it's _wrong_!"

"It's prison." Garcia flinched a little at how bitter Reid's voice sounded. He rubbed his eyes – very carefully, she noticed. "Can we talk about something else, please?"

Garcia took a deep breath. "Okay. Well. Here are some new letters for you to read, and a couple crosswords." She slipped them over the partition, relieved when Reid cracked a small smile.

"Thanks," he said. "I love the letters." He rubbed a hand over them. "How is everyone?"

"Coping. Sort of. Not really." The BAU offices may as well have turned into a funeral home, with everyone walking around all morose. It was a wonder they were even able to keep focused enough to work cases. She gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry. I don't really have anything happy to share, because nobody is happy right now. We miss you."

Reid's eyes pricked with tears. "I miss you guys, too. Very much."

"I just feel like there's so much more we should be doing, or could be doing."

"What you're doing is fine, Garcia, really. I don't want you guys doing anything dangerous just to help me. Believe me, I'm an example of how badly that can turn out."

It was a weak attempt at humor, but Garcia still smiled anyway. "Actually, I was thinking about one thing _you_ could do."

Reid narrowed his eyes, curious.

"You need to let out your hidden personality." She grinned as if this explained everything. When Reid's look turned to one of confusion, she elaborated. "Don't you remember? That one Halloween where we were talking about scary sides, and hidden personalities, and you did that weird Clint Eastwood impression?"

Reid chuckled at the memory. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, you should totally use that! If you're going to be in prison, you might as well use that badass side of yours."

"Badass side?" Good. He was genuinely amused. The pit in Garcia's stomach started to ease up a little.

"Yeah! It's in there! I know it is. I've seen it."

"I don't exactly look very threatening, Garcia." _If I did, maybe my whole body wouldn't be aching right now._

"Remember when you were helping with the Dirty Dozen takedown? You didn't look very intimidating when you faced off with Cat Adams. As I recall, you looked quite dapper." She grinned at the memory. "And yet look how that case turned out. You took her down _and_ you saved my life." She could've run through a list of unsubs Reid managed to go toe to toe with. "That's your dark side. Your secret weapon."

Reid shrugged. "I don't know, Garcia… This is different. Besides, I've got a friend named Shaw helping me."

"Well, it's just an idea. Just something to maybe help get these creeps off your back." She very nearly reached through the hole in the partition. "I just want you to take care of yourself, Reid. I want you to do whatever you need to do to stay safe. I don't want to see this," She waved a hand to indicate his bruised face, "the next time I come see you." _Or worse._ She shuddered at the thought.

The brief amusement in Reid's eyes had disappeared. "We'll see," he said softly, his lips thinning.

"Visiting time is over!" a guard called, causing Garcia to jump a little.

She growled. As much as she hated coming here, leaving Reid behind was always a struggle. More than once, she fantasized about grabbing him by the arm and taking him with her as she left. And if anyone protested, she'd threaten to hack the _shit_ out of them.

"Well, back to work. Yay," Garcia grumbled. As the two of them stood, Garcia locked eyes with Reid. "Hey." She waited until she was sure he was listening intently to her words. "You're gonna get through this, okay? We're gonna do whatever we can to help you."

Reid stared at her, and that's when Garcia noticed the hint of doubt in his eyes. Her heart sank. _He doesn't believe me. He doesn't trust us._ She was about to comment on that when she saw the guard glaring at her.

"Right. Okay. I'll see you later." As she backed away, she gave him one last look. "Be careful?"

Reid barely nodded at her. "I will. Bye, Garcia."

His face was so _glum_ , and Garcia didn't trust herself to speak without her voice cracking, so she simply waved.

Once she got back into her car, she took a few minutes to let herself cry, just as she'd done the last couple times.

This time, however, the tears didn't stop when she got back to work.

* * *

"Hey, Garcia," JJ said as she entered the building.

"Hi."

JJ noticed the sad look on her friend's face, and moved to hug her. "You want to talk about it?" she asked.

Garcia simply shook her head. No, she didn't. She was tired of talking about prison, she didn't want to think about how Reid was dealing with Luis' death, she was feeling restless about visiting him again, going so far as to debate whether or not she should trade days with one of the others.

It just seemed like everything was at a complete standstill. They didn't have any new information about that damned Mr. Scratch, their efforts to move Reid to a safer place fell through, Reid was looking and sounding worse and worse, if her friends' reports from their visits were anything to go by.

She was scared. That's all there was to it.

And yet, Garcia didn't want to show that fear. She didn't need to upset her friends any further. So she shook her thoughts away, turning the focus to JJ. "How about you? How are you doing?"

JJ sighed. "I'm...dealing. Henry's asking questions, and I don't know how to answer. And Diana keeps asking when Spence is coming home."

Garcia's heart ached for the little boy who missed his beloved godfather, and the mother who needed her son. She was about to respond when Luke joined them, turning on the TV in the bullpen.

"You guys hear about this yet?" he asked. The two women turned towards the screen, where a news anchor was reporting on a mass poisoning of prisoners at a local facility.

Garcia gasped as she heard the name of the facility. "Oh, God, that's where Reid is," she said. JJ placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Reid's okay," a voice said, interrupting their focus. All three of them turned to see Emily standing in the doorway. She looked exhausted, her lips set in a thin line. "It was a bad batch of drugs that made the prisoners sick. Reid didn't ingest them. He's fine."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Last thing they needed was a repeat of Hankel and Mexico.

The joy at that news was short-lived, however, as they noticed Emily's expression hadn't changed.

"What is it, Em?" JJ asked. "What are you not telling us?"

Emily sighed. "Apparently, one of the guards seems to suspect Reid was the one who contaminated the drugs and made everyone sick."

Luke and JJ exchanged shocked looks, JJ rubbing her forehead all the while.

Garcia, meanwhile, felt that pit in her stomach both return _and_ spread. Her advice to Reid played on a continuous loop in her mind, taunting her, mocking her.

 _Damn._

* * *

 _As always, reviews/critiques/etc. are appreciated._


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